Diversity has become a corny word: Idris Elba
LOS ANGELES: Actor Idris Elba said diversity has become a “corny” and overused word.
Elba believes that people have got tired of hearing the term being used in relation to the entertainment industry in Britain and the US.
“It’s become a bit of a corny word. People are just like, ‘Oh, stop talking about it’,” Elba told The Guardian newspaper.
Elba said he was unimpressed when politician Oona King called him to do a “boring” speech at the Houses of Parliament last year.
“Oona certainly pulled me by the scruff of the neck and was like, ‘Get up there and say it!’ She pushed me to go even further and, you know, Oona is one of the most powerful people I know, and very persuasive. Very persuasive,” he said.
Meanwhile, Elba also admitted he was left feeling “panicked” when he found himself without a job after his character — Stringer Bell in the TV show “The Wire” — was killed off after only three seasons.
“Yeah, I was definitely panicked at losing my job. I wasn’t a household name, I was part of a very successful show and then I was off that successful show. But, y’know, from the day I decided I wanted to be an actor, which was probably (when I was) 13-and-a-half years old in a drama class, I’ve never, ever worried about if I’m going to get there — I’ve just got there,” he told The Guardian newspaper.